Books You Need To Read

Get Nostalgic at The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls

By Sara Jonsson / June 12, 2013 at 5:01 pm

If you miss camp like crazy but are too old to be a counselor, let alone a camper, don’t fret: reading a camp-themed book will send you right back to the glory days of rafts and sports and romance and freedom. I recommend starting with the newly released The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls., by Anton DiSclafani. It takes place in 1931, at a fancy pants riding camp and school in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It’s a fascinating story told by Thea Atwell, a teen girl who’s going through some serious family upheaval. Though my own experience sleeping in the woods and playing capture the flag was anything but fancy pants, some elements of camp are universal. Here’s how my experience compares with Thea’s:
BOYS
…at Yonahlossee: The boys are wealthy, they wear tuxes, and they politely ask you to dance at coed mixers. They then write sweet follow-up letters, which will possibly lead to marriage proposals.
…at my camp: If he throws a water balloon at you and narrowly misses, you know he thinks you’re cute. Then you and your friends take a boat to the boys’ camp on the other side of the lake, where you yell, “What cabin are you in?” and he yells back, “Cherokee!” and then a few days later you meet you at the flagpole at midnight to make out.
ACTIVITIES
…at Yonahlossee: Horseback riding, lunch, riding horses, letter writing, equestrian time, snooping, horse hair brushing, reading, intrigue, gossip, horses, drinking from flasks, sneaking away to meet boys/men, horse jumping.
…at my camp: Arts and Crafts, Drama, cabin songs, flirting, taking off bras with shirts still on, hiking, flag football, horse riding, kayaking, letter writing, poison ivy treatment.
BATHROOMS
…at Yonahlossee: Not discussed.
…at my camp: Too far away, dig a hole in the woods.
READING
…at Yonahlossee: Visit one of the several libraries full of books. Glossy, hard-backed, and classic.
…at my camp: Read the third Harry Potter twice, ask your mom to send you #4, discover it’s not out yet (this was a while back), read #3 again, then get a package full of Archie Comics from home.
FRIENDSHIP
…at Yonahlossee: So strong, yet so confusing. Thea can’t understand why some girls are drawn to her and others hate her. Best friends become archnemeses during a lunch period, and rivals become compatriots because of a head nod and a horse grooming.
…at my camp: Exactly the same. Exhausting and volatile.
No matter the differences, any story about camp has a special place in our hearts. When you’re done with Yonahlossee, here are some more books to scratch the camp-reads itch (or maybe that’s poison ivy):

What’s your favorite reading pick for summer-camp nostalgia?